Posted on 03/27/2015 5:19:27 AM PDT by xzins
Fearing that Republicans will ultimately nominate an establishment presidential candidate like Jeb Bush, leaders of the nation’s Christian right have mounted an ambitious effort to coalesce their support behind a single social-conservative contender months before the first primary votes are cast.
In secret straw polls and exclusive meetings from Iowa to California, the leaders are weighing the relative appeal and liabilities of potential standard-bearers like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Govs. Rick Perry of Texas and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
“There’s a shared desire to come behind a candidate,” said Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, a national lobbying group that opposes abortion and equal rights for gays.
“It would be early for a group of leaders to come out for a candidate, but not too early for the conversations to begin,” he said.
The efforts to coalesce behind an alternative candidate — in frequent calls, teleconferences and meetings involving a range of organizations, many of them with overlapping memberships — are premised on two articles of conservative faith: Republicans did not win the White House in the past two elections because their nominees were too moderate and failed to excite the party’s base. And a conservative alternative failed to win the nomination each time because voters did not unite behind a single champion in the primary fight.
This time, social conservatives vow, will be different. They plan to unify behind an anti-establishment candidate by summer or early fall, with the expectation that they will be able to overcome any fund-raising advantage of the Republican elite by exerting their own influence through right-wing talk radio and social media, and by mobilizing an army of like-minded small donors. “Conservatives smell blood in the water,” said Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster who has participated in the vetting. “They feel they’ve got the best shot to deny the establishment a place.”
Ms. Conway said the candidates seen as having potential to energize the party’s right wing would be invited to make their case before national groups of social conservatives in the coming weeks and months.
Richard Viguerie, the conservative direct-mail pioneer, said he was involved in the effort to rally behind a candidate so “we won’t go into this season divided six or eight different ways.”
If we don't unite, and early, we lose again to the GOP-E
If we don’t unite, and early, we lose again to the GOP-E
Unite NOW!
TED CRUZ - 2015
There is only one candidate in my opinion:
Ted Cruz
But, being practical, here’s a list in rank order.
1. Cruz
2. Sessions
3. Palin
4. Lee
5. Pence
6. Walker
7. Perry
8. Rubio
9. Jindal
10. Martinez
“If we don’t unite, and early, we lose again to the GOP-E.”
Actually if we do not unite early, we lose to the entire establishment, not just the establishment wing of the Republican party.
Agree 100%. But the circular firing squad is already starting by many of the same people who worked hard to undermine every decent conservative in 2008 and 2012.
the presumptive nominee and the GOPe choice in 1980 was George H.W. Bush.
President Reagan’s victory is the model to defeat not only jebbie but whoever the RATS nominate.
Im in for Ted.
Smash all the other candidates all we want... just leave Walker alone. He may have to be Teds VP choice.
And they won't.
In the words of Chuck Schumer: "We're united, you're not."
Remember what happened? In the case of each and every conservative candidate, the cry rang out: "YOUR GUY'S JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"
We're talking about people who think Jesus Himself was a RINO.
Ouch.
But a good Ouch.
I agree with your list except Rubio and Perry. They have already shown themselves to be on the side of the illegal aliens and their employers.
It is imperative that we unite behind ONE candidate early.
I CHOOSE CRUZ! (h/t cripplecreek)
Great sign!
VOTE FOR TED CRUZ!
The question really is only whether they are better than Bush who sees illegal as an act of love and common core as a good education and the chamber of commerce as free market.
He’s far far off base.
Rubio and Perry have faults, but they’re better than Bush (BtB)
And, finally, I don’t believe in setting up dynasties and aristocracies, and both Bush and Clinton qualify.
I noticed Walker wasn’t on the list, but losers like Jindal and Huckabee are.
The sentence in question used the word “like” so maybe there are others they have straw-polled. I should have included Rand Paul on my list, so he’ll be number 11.
I really want my number one, though. Session, Palin, Lee, and Martinez don’t seem to be taking any steps toward a run.
Pence is a better choice than Walker, imho. And Jindal, because his parents were here only as students, and he was conceived overseas by non-immigrants but born here. I’d really have to study that one.
Besides that, I think his conservatism is unquestioned.
Why would conservatives NOT seek an alternative to Jeb Bush, considering that Jeb Bush sought advice from John McCain on how to win the nomination by side-stepping the conservatives?
It has to be Cruz! He’s my personal favorite and the candidate the left hates the most.
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